Motor festival hits overdrive
There's nothing quite like the smell of petrol in the morning.
TO be perfectly frank, last weekend’s Top Gear Festival wasn’t as good as I expected. It was better.
I am a huge fan of the TV programme, and to say I was excited to attend the live event as a guest of SuperSport is an understatement. And the more than 30 000 paying ticket holders who attended Saturday’s show at the Moses Mabhida Stadium seemed to agree with me.
Just to be clear – although I really enjoy watching Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, James May and, of course, the enigmatic Stig (I have also been known to get really revved up watching Formula 1), I am far from an authority on things motoring.
However, even to my uninitiated eye, the festival offered a smorgasbord of events with great appeal to both veteran ‘petrol heads’ and newbies like myself.
From the sedate park and display where proud owners showed off their gleaming machines to the eye-popping Red Bull motorbike stunt riders executing death-defying manoeuvres and the nail-biting thrills of the drifters quite literally burning rubber, it was action all the way.
One of the highlights for me was the incredibly brave – or stupid, depending on your fear threshold – stunt driver who ‘bungeed’ a Formula 1 racing car from 120 metres up in the air.
Apparently, the man – if, indeed he IS a man – behind the wheel of the Lotus was The Stig. Rumour has it he keeps his brain in a jar next to his bed and judging by his repeated execution of this stunt, I’m inclined to believe that it’s true!
The stadium show also did not disappoint. The intricately choreographed car ‘ballet’ was a delight to watch and the vehicular football match between England and South Africa (convincingly won by South Africa under the captaincy of the Stig) had the crowd roaring.
The local quips about the cost of the president’s new home and perils and pleasures of travelling in a South African taxi also hit their mark.
And of course no Top Gear show would be complete without the casual insults (‘There’s a boring noise coming out that hole in the middle of your face, James’) and extraordinary hybrid vehicles put together by the presenters.
This time around, we were treated to an articulated ‘vehicle’ composed of ironing boards (Richard Hammond), a complicated washing machine bone-shaker produced by James May and Jeremy Clarkson’s Frankenstein creation comprising fridges, microwaves and, bizarrely, a vacuum cleaner.
Motoring enthusiast or not, this event should feature on everyone’s ‘bucket list’. The sights, sounds and smells will linger long after the last engine has been switched off.
